I am listening to Ravel’s Bolero. Ravel claimed this piece of music was meant only as an exercise. Little did he know how much exercise would be generated in years to come by the enthusiastic response to this music.

In 1958 there was a story taking place in my life that included my first introduction to Bolero. My experience included hearing these words. “Bolero is the perfect music to make love to.”

In 1977 I partnered with a movie producer friend, Peter Bogdonavitch in a major art show which included an invitation-only short film about the production of our presentation. Over coffee I told Peter of my experience in the fifties and repeated the quotation. He grabbed a napkin and a pen and said “Mind if I use this?” referring to the quote.

I nodded yes. The following day Peter told a pal of his, Blake Edwards and Mr. Edwards who was already in production for “Ten” starring Bo Derek and Julie Andrews said “Yes” and he put the perfectly quoted “Bolero is the perfect music to make love to.” into the film.

An email conversation between lee Broom and a photographer friend about an extrordinary flower photo.

PF: Hey magical mystery mind! LOL

The past couple days, I can’t seem to pull myself away from the computer. Feeling guilty cuz the weather is just so-darn-nice! So many things to look up and learn about!!! Looking for a Photoshop technique that will teach how to do this. Really like the pastel painterly effect.

Lee: HERE’S my guess; the image is really the same image twice. The background is a close-up of the zinnia or whatever it is and has been blurred to disguise the distortion of separating pixels. The closer image is then overlaid atop the fuzzy close-up. The complimentary colors in the background are the opposite of those in front, so perhaps the background is a negative image.

The lack of tech knowledge forces me to use my often flawed imagination. Whaddaya think?

PS: I am typing with my right middle finger while eating sour dough bread and an avocado and a fresh hothouse tomato. Beautiful image.

PF: Wow! You are great at figuring this out! You should be doing Photoshop!!!

I was kind of thinking in the same direction. Without spending a zillion hours to tweak this, was looking for the ‘recipe’ of directions to do this.

Was your photo below taken at the City Hall Gallery? Are those photos or paintings??

Your sandwich sounds delish… I’m hungry.

Lee: The current show is photography.

“Phoenix Icons: The Art of Our Historic Landmarks,’ features photographs of more than 30 historic Phoenix landmarks, by Patrick Madigan and Michael Lundgren.The exhibit is the second in a series of rotating exhibitions from the city’s historic Municipal Art Collection of 1,000 artworks.”

Everything in the Universe is made from the crumbs of something else. Surely, this is the first rule of Creativity and Creativity must certainly be the first consideration in defining art.

And for those of us who have lived this Creative Experience, whether it be to suddenly hear the first words in a poem on its way into our reality or becoming aware of a business idea rising to the surface or perhaps caressing a piece of unfettered marble and feeling the sculpture hidden among its veins or Miracle of Miracles, helping to form a new person, whether by fertilizing an egg or stumbling through the agonizing pile of paperwork and interviews to adopt a child, the feeling that accompanies such Creative Endeavors is encouraging and possibly even addictive.